Supreme Court Will Rule on Trump Immunity Claims

Donald Trump Immunity
Trump claims that, without immunity, “Presidents will always be concerned, and even paralyzed.” Credit: Gage Skidmore. CC BY-2.0/Flickr

The Supreme Court will decide if former President Donald Trump has immunity from prosecution on charges of trying to overturn the 2020 election.

The 6-3 conservative majority court decided on Wednesday to hear Trump’s claims that he should be shielded from criminal liability.

A US Court of Appeals panel has already rejected his argument that he enjoys presidential immunity. Trump had claimed in the landmark legal case that he was immune from all criminal charges for acts he said fell within his duties as president.

However, the appeals court ruled unanimously against the 77-year-old, writing that: “We cannot accept former President Trump’s claim that a president has unbounded authority to commit crimes that would neutralize the most fundamental check on executive power – the recognition and implementation of election results.”

He appealed the case to the Supreme Court and asked to put that decision on hold.

On his Truth Social site, Trump welcomed Wednesday’s decision and contended that, without immunity, “Presidents will always be concerned, and even paralyzed, by the prospect of wrongful prosecution and retaliation after they leave office.”

“This could actually lead to the extortion and blackmail of a President,” he wrote.

Trial could be delayed

Trump was charged last year with witness tampering and conspiracy to defraud the US in federal court in Washington DC over his attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden.

Jack Smith, who was appointed as special counsel in the investigation, brought the charges against him and pushed for the trial to be held this year. The Supreme Court’s decision has the potential to seriously delay the trial, which was originally scheduled for March.

Arguments in the Supreme Court case are scheduled for the week of April 22nd, and any trial will have to wait until after a decision is made.

Although a decision could come swiftly, the justices might rule that the former President is immune from prosecution or issue a decision that further delays legal action.

Justice Department guidelines limit prosecutorial action in politically sensitive investigations from within sixty days of an election, meaning prosecutors face a deadline of early September.

Trump faces several charges

The Republican front-runner candidate for president is facing a host of other federal and state criminal charges.

The former President is facing a trial starting in late March on charges of falsifying business records over hush-money payment he made to a porn star.

The Supreme Court is also hearing arguments in a separate case weighing whether Trump can be disqualified from running for a second term under the 14th Amendment’s “insurrection ban.”

Trump has pleaded not guilty in all cases, frequently referring to them as political “witch hunts.”

Leap Year 2024: Greek Superstitions About Weddings

Leap year 2024
A Greek superstition says the wedding in 2024 may end in divorce. Credit: suendercafe,  CC BY-SA 2.0.

Many Greek couples will wait until 2025 to marry because this year is a leap year. If you believe in ancient superstitions, people should avoid getting married in 2024 because it is considered bad luck to tie the knot during a leap year.

In Greece, couples often choose not to marry during a leap year, because, according to ancient tradition, there is a good chance that the wedding will end in divorce.

As if that’s not bad enough, there’s also a superstition that divorced couples who are separated during a leap year will never find happiness again in their lives.

It has traditionally been believed by some that weddings and even engagements celebrated during a leap year will end badly, either as a result of divorce or even widowhood.

People born on February 29th who are also known as leaplings will finally get to celebrate their birthdays on their exact birthdate. For leap day babies, being born on February 29th may mean four times fewer birthdays. However, some also see it as the key to eternal youth.

Why do we have leap years?

The Earth takes about 365.24 days to revolve around the sun. Before Roman rule, Western peoples used a 355-day calendar with one extra month added every two years to compensate for this irregularity.

During the first century BC, Roman Emperor Julius Caesar ordered that the calendar system be simplified to synchronize the year with the seasons. Hence, the official length of the year was changed to 365 days, plus one extra day every four years.

Pope Gregory XIII later perfected this system in 1582, forming the Gregorian calendar which we still use today.

The origins of leap year superstitions

However, simply adding one more day to February was not considered a good thing at all by superstitious Romans. February was known as the month of the dead, and the Romans believed that Hades would roam the Earth that month.

One extra day of that dreaded month just meant another walk of the god of the underworld on Earth as well as more death and suffering.

After the conquest of Greece by the Romans, this superstition was passed on to Greeks, and leap years are still regarded as “bad luck years” in the culture. If one is married during a leap year, they are seen as connecting the marriage to some kind of misfortune.

The same superstition would apply to the beginning of a relationship, a new job agreement, or a contract signed during a leap year.

Other leap year traditions

An Irish tradition has it that St. Brigid, the patron saint of Kildare, struck a deal with St. Patrick to allow women to propose to men rather than the other way around once every four years on leap years.

One reason for this was reportedly that she believed many men were too shy to propose, and this would allow their lady loves to seal the deal without the young women having to wait forever to give their hand in marriage.

This is also believed to have been introduced to “balance” the traditional roles of men and women in a similar way that a leap day every four years balances the calendar.

However, on the other hand, it was also believed by certain Europeans that if a man refused the proposal of a woman during a leap year, he would then have to buy her twelve pairs of gloves.

In Scotland, there exists a belief that people who are born on a leap day will experience a life filled with hardships. Overall, some even consider leap years bad years for farmers.

Some reports of superstitions linked to the year posit that the number of deaths also suddenly rises, and many people die in that particular year.

The Rise and Fall of Pants in Ancient Rome: From Ban to Commonplace Couture

0
Battle Between Romans and Gauls, wearing pants, 1460s.
The Roman empire banned pants because they were seen to be a symbol of barbarism with many conquered tribes having worn them. Credit: failing_angel. CC BY 2.0/flickr

Togas and tunics were the fashion in ancient Rome for both men and women, but the Roman Empire covered a large area of the map. Thus, conquered cultures had their own dress with many wearing pants. Romans hence began associating pants with non-Romans and eventually banned them before the legwear became commonplace.

The Roman Empire encompassed vast swathes of land and many different cultures, spanning around two million square miles at its peak. When Julius Caesar reigned over the extensive Roman Empire, he invaded Gaul and waged war on a number of tribes, including the Aedui, Atrebates, and Viromandui.

When Roman soldiers and administrators encountered tribal peoples, they generally considered them to be uncivilized and referred to them as barbarians. The attire of several of the tribes in Gaul included pants, which were usually made from animal skins. Other Germanic tribes also wore pants, marking a significant difference in dress to the Roman people.

Because the Romans conquered so many tribes who wore the leg-warming garments, pants gradually became associated with the conquered, and Romans came to view anyone who wore them as barbaric, including other Romans.

By 100 AD, the wearing of pants was still considered odd in the Roman world, but Romans did introduce the wearing of a particular type of pants called braccae. This style of legwear had a drawstring. It was made of wool, making the particular type of pants a warm garment. The legwear was useful for the Romans when fighting enemies in colder climates, such as Northern Europe.

Why were pants banned in the Roman Empire?

As it became more common for Roman soldiers to wear pants, it also became more commonplace for the general public to don them. Roman emperors were not in favor of this trend, and, at that time, Rome had two emperors, Honorius and Arcadius. They issued a decree stating that people were not permitted to wear boots or pants. The wearing of pants would result in punishment, including exile.

Enforcing the ban was another challenge altogether. While in Rome and major cities, officials could monitor and penalize those wearing trousers. In the vast stretches of the empire, consistent enforcement was nearly impossible.

The reason for the decree is still debated by historians, with some claiming it was an attempt to keep pants in the sole domain of the military. Others argue the ban aligned with efforts to maintain Roman culture and tradition at a time when Rome was becoming more multicultural. Long hair and luxurious jewelry were also banned around this time.

Despite the efforts of the emperors, attire worn by the Roman people was changing. When Rome fell to Germanic tribes, wearing pants was no longer controversial. The remaining Roman court in Constantinople even began to wear pants, and the legwear generally became commonplace along with long sleeves and fitted tunics.

Bitcoin Tops $63K for First Time Since November 2021

0
Bitcoin and statistic diagram
On Wednesday, 28 February, Bitcoin tops $63K for the first time since November 2021. Credit: Jorge Franganillo / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0

Bitcoin reached a new high, surpassing $63,000 on Wednesday for the first time since November 2021. This surge was fueled by increased trading in Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.

Investor interest in Bitcoin was also boosted by a decrease in its supply growth, known as “halving,” which is scheduled for April.

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, has made a remarkable recovery since trading at about $20,000 less than a year ago. Its prices have risen by about 45 percent since the beginning of the year, jumping from $42,000 to over $60,000 in just a few weeks, according to Investopedia.

Bitcoin ETFs and halving influenced the prices

As the trading activity around spot Bitcoin ETFs reached its highest levels since these funds became available to retail investors in January, the price of the digital asset surged.

Nine new spot Bitcoin ETFs, excluding the existing Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), reached a record-high trading volume on Monday, as reported by Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas.

Eric Balchunas said in a post on X (formerly Twitter), “It’s official..the New Nine Bitcoin ETFs have broken all time volume record today with $2.4b, just barely beating Day One but about double their recent daily average. $IBIT went wild accounting for $1.3b of it, breaking its record by about 30%.”

Blackrock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), a part of Blackrock (BLK), saw its trading volume records broken on both Monday and Tuesday.

In addition to the excitement surrounding spot Bitcoin ETFs, a recent report from Grayscale Advisors LLC highlighted the upcoming Bitcoin halving event as a significant factor influencing Bitcoin prices. Scheduled for April, the halving will reduce the supply of new Bitcoin created per block and cut rewards for Bitcoin miners by half.

With the total supply of Bitcoin capped at 21 million and nearly 19.6 million already in circulation, the halving will further decrease the supply, increasing the token’s scarcity.

The halving event is also expected to impact the returns of Bitcoin mining stocks, which have recently experienced impressive gains, as reported by Investopedia.

Impact of rising Bitcoin on other cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin’s surge has had a positive impact on the entire cryptocurrency market. Based on CoinGecko data, the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies has exceeded $2 trillion for the first time since April 2022. Bitcoin alone contributes nearly $1.2 trillion to this total.

Although the gains in the crypto market haven’t matched the rapid pace of Bitcoin’s rise this year, ether (ETH) recently crossed the $3,000 mark for the first time since April 2022.

Stocks focused on cryptocurrencies, such as Coinbase (COIN) and Riot Blockchain (RIOT), have also reached new highs for the year during this latest rally.

Notably, software intelligence company Microstrategy (MSTR) now holds over $11 billion worth of Bitcoin on its balance sheet, as reported by Investopedia.

New Research Disproves Pythagoras’ Music Theory

Pythagoras
New research has disproved ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras’ music theories, showing that harmony can be manipulated. Pythagoras. Credit: Public Domain

New research has shown that the tone and tuning of musical instruments has the power to manipulate people’s appreciation of harmony, challenging centuries of Western music theory and disproving ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras’ musical theories in at least two ways.

What was ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras’ musical theory?

The ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras posited that ‘consonance,’ a pleasant-sounding combination of notes in music, is created by special interactions between simple numbers such as 3 and 4. More recently, scholars have attempted to put forward psychological explanations. However, these number ratios are still widely credited with making a chord sound pleasant, and moving away from them is believed to make music sound unpleasant.

Nevertheless, researchers from the University of Cambridge, Princeton, and the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics have now discovered two key ways in which Pythagoras was incorrect.

The study, published in Nature Communications, shows that, in typical listening contexts, people do not actually prefer chords to be perfectly within these mathematical ratios.

“We prefer slight amounts of deviation,” said co-author Dr Peter Harrison from Cambridge’s Faculty of Music and director of its Centre for Music and Science. “We like a little imperfection because this gives life to the sounds, and that is attractive to us.”

Additionally, the research team found that the role played by these mathematical relationships—theorized by ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras—disappears when people consider certain musical instruments that are less well-known to Western musicians, audiences, and experts.

These instruments tend to be gongs, bells, certain xylophone-type pieces, and other kinds of pitched percussion instruments. The study made a particular effort to understand the bonang, an instrument from the Javanese gamelan built from a collection of small gongs.

Bonang.
Bonang. Credit: Marcellinohanarko. CC BY 4.0/Wikimedia Commons/Marcellinohanarko

“When we use instruments like the bonang, Pythagoras’s special numbers go out the window and we encounter entirely new patterns of consonance and dissonance,” said Dr Harrison, a Fellow of Churchill College, as reported by the University of Cambridge’s media team.

“The shape of some percussion instruments means that when you hit them, and they resonate, their frequency components don’t respect those traditional mathematical relationships, Harrison explained. “That’s when we find interesting things happening.”

“Western research has focused so much on familiar orchestral instruments, but other musical cultures use instruments that, because of their shape and physics, are what we would call ‘inharmonic,’” he added.

The team created an online laboratory where over four thousand people from the US and South Korea participated in twenty-three behavioral experiments. Those taking part were played chords and asked to give each a rating of numeric pleasantness or to use a slider to adjust certain notes in a chord to make it sound more pleasant. The tonal experimentation produced over 235,000 human judgements.

“Our findings challenge the traditional idea that harmony can only be one way, that chords have to reflect these mathematical relationships,” Harrison said. “We show that there are many more kinds of harmony out there, and that there are good reasons why other cultures developed them.”

How Transnistria’s Tiraspol Got Its Ancient Greek Name

0
Tiraspol
Located on the eastern bank of the Dniester River, Transnistria’s Tiraspol was named after the ancient Greek name for Dniester. Credit: Wikimedia Common / Visem

Moldova’s breakaway state of Transnistria and its self-proclaimed capital, Tiraspol, have gained themselves some unwanted attention recently, as they were caught up in the politics surrounding the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

During a special congress held on Wednesday, February 28, politicians in Transnistria appealed to Moscow for protection against the “growing pressure from Moldova.” Subsequently, the Kremlin emphasized that safeguarding its “compatriots” remained a top priority, as reported by Russian state media RIA Novosti.

When the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe recognized Transnistria as a Moldovan territory occupied by Russia on March 15th 2022, very few people reading the news knew that the capital of this little-known Eastern European disputed territory is an ancient Greek toponym.

Tiraspol named after Tyras river

Located on the eastern bank of the Dniester River, which separates the breakaway territory of Transnistria from the rest of Moldova, Tiraspol was named after the ancient Greek name for Dniester.

The river Tyras (later simplified as Tiras) is mentioned in the works of classical Greek historians Herodotus, Ptolemy, and Strabo. According to Herodotus, Tyras rose in a large lake whilst Ptolemy placed its sources in Mount Carpates. To further complicate matters, Strabo says that the river source is unknown.

Thus, the modern name Tiraspol is, in fact, a toponym, composed by Tiras, as the ancient Greeks called the Dniester river, and polis, the ancient Greek word for “city,” which signifies a city on the Tiras River.

The third largest Moldovan city and capital city of Transnistria, Tiraspol was founded in the 18th century after the territory was acquired by the Russian Empire following the Russian-Turkish War.

Transnistria
Lenin Monument, Transnistria. credit: flickr / Andrew Milligan sumo CC BY 2.0 DEED

This is one of the new cities of that era with “invented Greek names” in the area, a popular habit for naming new settlements in the years of Catherine II, according to the book Mobility in the Russian, Central and East European Past, by Róisín Healy.

Although Tiraspol should not be confused with the actual Greek colony of Tyras—whose ruins lie in Ukrainian territory on the Black Sea—the 18th-century city’s naming is indicative of how vividly the Greek history of the area survived through the centuries in the collective memory of the local communities.

Disputed current status

Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester river and the Moldovan–Ukrainian border, as well as some land on the opposite side of the river’s bank. Along with Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Artsakh, it comprises part of a post-Soviet “frozen conflict” zone.

On January 27, 1990, Tiraspol citizens passed the referendum declaring the city an independent territory. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the territory east of the Dniester River declared independence as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), with Tiraspol as its capital.

Transnistria’s status remains disputed, as it considers itself an independent state. Nonetheless, this is not officially recognized by any country, and the Moldovan government and international community consider Transnistria a part of Moldova’s territory.

According to the Moldova Travel Guide 2020, by Olga Stan, Transnistria has its own passport and currency, and visitors need to register at border control points to enter the territory.

2800-Year-Old Seal Provides ‘Missing Link’ to Hercules

A 2,800-year-old 'Hercules' seal discovered in Israel provides a “missing link” to a mythological figure depicted in the Bible, according to new research.
A 2,800-year-old ‘Hercules’ seal discovered in Israel provides a “missing link” to a mythological figure depicted in the Bible, according to new research. Credit: Journal of Near Eastern Archaeology

A small 2,800-year-old stone seal depicting Hercules, discovered in the highlands of northern Israel, may be a ‘missing link’ in the evolution of a common motif that appears in the Bible and Greek mythology, according to a new study.

The “spectacular” artifact “occupies a special place in this long and largely unknown history of myth transmission,” Christoph Uehlinger, the study author and professor in comparative religion at the University of Zurich wrote.

The Hercules seal was discovered during an archaeological excavation in Tel Hazor in 2022, and depicts an intense battle sequence involving a human figure wielding a spear facing up to a seven-headed serpent, Uehlinger said. A griffin, scarab, and a pair of monkeys are also visible on the edges of the scene.

The item is around 4cm long, and dates back to around 800/750 BC. It is believed to have been crafted by either an Israelite or a Phoenician – people who occupied the nearby area of the Levant.

How the ‘Hercules Seal’ Evolved Over the Centuries

The image of a hero fighting with a seven-headed serpent is much older than the Hercules seal itself, first appearing around 2,500 BC in Mesopotamia, part of modern-day Iraq. It is thought that the motif then spread from there, resurfacing in ancient texts from modern-day Syria, where it found its way into the Hebrew bible.

In Israel, the hero figure was known as Yahweh – the Hebrew name for divine – who was fighting a leviathan, Uehlinger said.

Hundreds of years later, it appeared in the Christian Bible, with the mythical serpent battling an angel in the book of revelation. The same image then cropped up in Greek mythology in the form of Herakles (Hercules in ancient Rome) locked in combat with a Hydra, a multiple-headed serpent beast.

The common appearance of this depiction, with its slight variations, has puzzled researchers for some time, with nobody being certain about the image’s proliferation during the first and second millennia BC.

However, this newly-discovered Hercules seal from Hazor “provides a tangible link from Phoenicia to Israel,” Uehlinger told McClatchy News in an email, as reported by the Miami Herald. It also supports one thesis that the motif traveled from Ugarity in norther Syria through Phoenicia to Israel.

“Phoenician scribes/scholars probably preserved and transmitted the tradition they may had inherited from Ugarit (an ancient city in Syria) since the Late Bronze age,” Uehlinger said.

Adding that the mechanism by which the motif spread to the west and became part of the Hercules myth, remains unknown.

The Stellar Journey of Ancient Greek Astronomy

 

A night sky filled with stars and the Milky Way galaxy above ancient Greek ruins.
Where Ancient Greek Wisdom Meets the Cosmos. AI depiction. Credit: MidJourney for the Greek Reporter

The night sky has always been a source of wonder not only for the ancient Greeks but for everyone on this planet.

Particularly, however, to the ancient Greeks, it was a vast canvas of endless possibilities—a frame dotted with hidden planets and shiny stars upon which they painted their myths and stories.

The story of Greek astronomy reveals a world in which mythological interpretations and sophisticated mathematical models merge together, showcasing the profound impact of the Greeks on our understanding of the cosmos to this day.

The dawn of Greek astronomy: Myths and early observations

As usual, our story with the Greeks begins with myths.

Hesiod and Homer were the two main characters of this story. They were the men who laid the foundations with their epic tales of how the world began. These stories weren’t just entertainment, however. They were early attempts of the Greeks to actually understand the heavens above their curious heads.

Stars and planets were gradually given names, their movements were meticulously observed, and the curiosity of those who wanted to find answers was being stretched beyond the Earth day after day—or should we say, night after night.

This was a time when Greek observations began to merge with the astronomical knowledge of other peoples, such as the Babylonians and Egyptians, who had already wondered about the hidden truths of our universe.

Plato and Aristotle dialectics
Plato and Aristotle dialectics. Credit: Luca della Robbia-Museo dell’Opera del Duomo-Florence CC BY 4.0/Yair Haklai – Wikimedia Commons

From Thales to Plato: A cosmos of philosophy

Enter the philosophers. Thales of Miletus sparked a groundbreaking revolution, proposing the unthinkable. Water was the essence of all matter, and when we say all matter, we mean even of the stars. Thales was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer who is credited as one of the first to propose naturalistic explanations for the world. One of them was this theory he came up with.

It was a fundamentally bold step away from myth and towards a more structured search for rational explanations.

On his behalf, Anaximander, his famous pupil, envisioned the Earth floating in space and surrounded by rings of fire. This was another bold statement for his era.

Pythagoras, on the other hand, suggested that the Earth was actually a sphere, contradicting what the human senses could grasp as real.

Finally, Plato managed to build on these revolutionary ideas, claiming that the cosmos around us was a universe of perfect geometric shapes. This set the stage for a mathematical understanding of the stars, that would, later on in human history, change the way we understand the world we live in.

These parallel narratives of some of the most iconic Greek thinkers reveal how ancient Greek astronomy evolved. Step by step, it went from the mythological to the mathematical, influencing centuries of celestial observation and theory.

The mathematicians’ sky: From Eudoxus to Ptolemy

Around 350 BC, Eudoxus of Cnidus introduced the concept of concentric spheres. This was yet again another groundbreaking idea that allowed the Greeks to conceptualize a more structured view of the heavens. His model, though it was clearly imperfect, was a bold attempt to map the heavens mathematically. Following Eudoxus, Callippus and Aristotle refined this model, making it much more complex and closer to the observed celestial phenomena with which we are familiar today.

This model of Eudoxus was a stepping stone, inspiring others like Callippus and Aristotle to refine and expand our understanding of the world around and above us. Aristotle, in particular, championed the idea of a geocentric universe, a belief that stood unchallenged for thousands of years.

Then came the mathematicians.

Apollonius and Hipparchus pushed the boundaries further. They managed to devise models to predict the movements of the stars and planets with remarkable—to this day—precision. The star catalog of Hipparchus was a monumental achievement in this route, mapping the positions of numerous stars with unprecedented accuracy. He is also remembered for the discovery of the precession of the equinoxes. This was truly a testament to the growing sophistication with which the Greeks observed the sky.

However, it was Ptolemy who compiled the Almagest. This was a book of comprehensive theories that synthesized and expanded upon the astronomical knowledge of his time. The work of Ptolemy blended observation with mathematical theory and remained a cornerstone of astronomy through to the Middle Ages.

Legacy and influence: Beyond the Hellenistic world

The profound influence of Greek astronomy on our world didn’t end with the demise and fall of the Hellenistic world.

The texts of many Greek thinkers were translated into Arabic and became a vital link to the Renaissance. This sparked a new era of astronomical discovery in Europe, leading to today’s unimaginable achievements in the field of astronomy.

Indian astronomers, too, were influenced by Greek texts. The Greek thinkers and their world helped them integrate Hellenistic concepts into their celestial models, which were already advanced on their merit.

Evidence of the long-lasting legacy of Greek astronomers today is the fact that the names given to stars and constellations by the Greeks still adorn our night sky.

This combination of mythic and mathematical elements illustrates the crucial role of the ancient Greeks in the story of astronomy. Their quest to understand the cosmos laid the foundations for the scientific research that continues to this day.

Michelangelo Wanted Vatican’s St. Peter’s Basilica on a Greek Cross Plan

0
Michelangelo and St. Peter's Basilica
Michelangelo designed the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica to be the tallest in the world. Credit: Myrabella / Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0

When the Vatican appointed the great sculptor, painter, and architect Michelangelo to  rebuild St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, he wanted it to be on a Greek Cross plan.

Specifically, Michelangelo envisioned the emblematic basilica to have a much larger dome so it could be seen from afar, along with a more sizeable rostrum and cross.

It was 1546 when Pope Paul III asked the great artist to undertake the giant project. Works had begun forty years earlier but with limited results. The five predecessors involved had different plans, and the church that was originally built by Constantine the Great in the fourth century ended up looking like Roman ruins.

portrait of Michelangelo
Portrait of Michelangelo by Daniele da Volterra. Public Domain

Michelangelo agreed to redesign the basilica under two conditions. Firstly, he would not receive any compensation for his work, and, secondly, the basilica would be rebuilt on a Greek Cross plan. His vision was for St. Peter’s to have the tallest dome in the world, specifically 448 feet (136.5 meters) high from ground to top.

Greek-cross plan is characterized by a church design that takes the shape of a Greek cross, featuring a square central mass and four arms of equal length. This architectural layout found extensive use in Byzantine architecture and served as inspiration for Western churches influenced by Byzantine design principles.

The sheer size of the basilica made the project daunting. Yet, St. Paul’s Basilica was the center of Christendom at the time. According to the Church, it was the site of the burial of St. Peter. It deserved to be the grandest construction of its time.

Michelangelo takes over from Bramante

Donato Bramante was Michelangelo’s predecessor. He was appointed by Pope Julius II in 1506 to demolish the old church built by Constantine and rebuild it. This was an ambitious project that Bramante undertook with great zeal.

It was the architect’s idea to rebuild St. Paul’s in the shape of a Greek Cross enclosed by a square with an enormous dome over the center. He also envisioned smaller domes and half-domes radiating outwards. Bramante began the huge project, and, when he died, Rafael took over as chief architect.

In turn, Michelangelo took over after the passing of Raphael and made changes to Bramante’s Greek Cross plan, emphasizing a central dome and creating a much more symmetrical design.

Michelangelo’s revisions added imposing exterior masonry, making the basilica look like a grand monument. Instead of Bramante’s enclosed Greek Cross, Michelangelo filled in each corner with stairwells or small vestries, creating a continuous wall surface. Furthermore, he designed Corinthian pilasters set at varied angles. These had the effect of providing a dynamic form to the structure.

His grand design was meant to give St. Peter’s Basilica the look of an awe-inspiring monument. Ultimately, Michelangelo’s dome and Greek Cross plan are the architectural elements that made the basilica the awe-inspiring monumental Christian church that has withstood time.

Michelangelo’s work on St. Peter’s Basilica

Initially, Michelangelo was reluctant to take over such an ambitious task. In one of his writings found later, he said, “I undertake this only for the love of God and in honor of the Apostle.”

Michelangelo took over the construction of St. Peter’s and requested complete artistic freedom to complete the project as he saw fit. His ideas, designs, and implementation finally made him the primary designer of the basilica as it stands to this day.

Adam capella sisita
Creation of Adam, Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo. Credit: wikimedia commons / Levan CC BY 3.0

The idea of a large dome was inspired from both ancient Rome and Renaissance Italy. A century earlier, Filippo Brunelleschi, one of the founders of the Renaissance, had built the imposing dome of the Florence Cathedral. Architects who worked on St. Peter’s Basilica were inspired by the work of Brunelleschi.

Michelangelo adopted ideas from previous architects and produced his own visionary design with his distinctive touch and all subsequent plans. The eastern end of the new St. Peter’s Basilica with its monumental dome was the centrifugal point of Michelangelo’s work and his most distinct contribution. To this day, the dome remains the tallest of its kind in the world. The architect passed away prior to its completion and only witnessed the implementation of the base of the dome, called the Tamburo.

In 1564, Michelangelo passed away at the age of eighty-eight. His work on the basilica was intended to continue unaltered. His assistant Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola was left to carry on the work in his place. The reigning Pope, Pius V, assigned Giorgio Vasari to ensure that he complete the work as Michelangelo had intended.

Gold Phoenician Artifact Found in Israel May Support Bible Claims

0
Tiny, 3,000-year-old gold pendant found in the Ophel area in Jerusalem, thought to be of Phoenician origin.
Tiny, 3,000-year-old gold pendant found in the Ophel area in Jerusalem, thought to be of Phoenician origin. Credit: Armstrong Institute of Biblical Archaeology

A tiny 3,000-year-old temple-era pendant, claimed to be the ‘earliest gold artifact’ found in Jerusalem, was revealed to the public this week as part of a US-based exhibit of artifacts linked to the first temple era, with an archaeologist saying the item may be evidence that Phoenicians were in Jerusalem 3,000 years ago.

The four-millimeter gold pendant or earring is shaped like a basket with a solid foundation, with two semi-circular handles which extend above the base, overlapping to create a point where the pendant could have been hung from, as well as narrow gold wire wrapped around the top of the artifact.

The gold pendant was discovered a decade ago during excavations in the Ophel, an area to the south of Temple Mount in Jerusalem. However, it was only last year that the item began to drum up some interest, according to archaeologist Brent Nagtegaal of the Armstrong Institute of Biblical Archaeology – as reported by The Times of Israel.

Examination reportedly showed that the artifact is made of electrum – a gold and silver compound stronger than standard gold – which would make it “the earliest gold artifact ever discovered in an archaeological excavation in Jerusalem,” according to Nagtegaal.

Following comparisons between the item and existing research on similar artifacts, as well as seeking the opinion of experts from the Hebrew University and the Israeli Antiquities Authority, Nagtegaal determined that the pendant was of Phoenician origin.

3,000-year-old gold pendant found in the Ophel area in Jerusalem, thought to be of Phoenician origin.
3,000-year-old gold pendant found in the Ophel area in Jerusalem, thought to be of Phoenician origin. Credit: Armstrong Institute of Biblical Archaeology

Is the Gold Pendant Evidence of Phoenician Presence in Ancient Israel?

The artifact, “securely dated by archaeological context” to the 10th century BCE, represents “the best evidence so far that Phoenicians themselves were present in Jerusalem during the 10th century BCE, the time of King Solomon,” Nagtegaal claimed in an article announcing the research Monday.

Biblical scholars and archaeologists are allegedly keen to prove there were Phoenicians in Jerusalem during the first temple era and earlier, because it would give credit to biblical accounts of interactions between King Hiram of Tyre and both King David and King Solomon.

There is very little evidence to show that David or Solomon were real people, and even less in support of the Bible’s claim that Hiram, who ruled a large regional power, sent supplies and workers to help with the building of the first temple in Jerusalem.

Ophel from above.
Ophel from above. Credit: Armstrong Institute of Biblical Archaeology

Tyre, a significant hub of Phoenician culture which existed in what is now Lebanon, is referenced multiple times in the Hebrew Bible, ancient Greek writings, and other sources, including by Josephus.

The gold pendant may also support the thesis that there was trade between Phoenicia and Jerusalem at the time.

Previous finds from the Ophel area have confirmed “Phoenician cultural influence in Jerusalem” during the first temple period, Nagtegaal asserted. A full, thorough academic analysis of the item, along with a stratigraphy study of the area where it was found, will be published in the upcoming “The Ophel Excavations to the South of the Temple Mount, 2009-2013: Final Reports Volume III,” Nagtegaal wrote.

The gold Phoenician pendant went on display as part of the recently opened “King David and Solomon Discovered” exhibit at the Armstrong Auditorium in Edmond, Oklahoma, which will run until January 2025.

The exhibit is dedicated to the late Dr Eilat Mazar of the Hebrew University, the leading archaeologist who supervised excavations in the Ophen and City of David areas and who was a scholar of both ancient Jerusalem and Phoenician culture.